Footprints on the Heart: Finding Family
by RK9
Summary: The CSI:NY version of my Footprints on the Heart AU. Based on the Magnificent 7 Little Britches AU. A CSI takes in a little boy who needs her, and attempts to heal his wounded soul. Along the way, the team discovers the true meaning of love and family.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Little Britches Magnificent 7 AU that inspired this series, nor do I own the characters or the show CSI: NY. I only own my version of this AU.

**Author's notes: **Completely unbetaed...Anyone interested in filling the beta reader spot, please PM me...

Set in the same universe as the Footprints on the Heart series, which is an AU based on the Magnificent 7 Little Britches AU. I am starting the CSI:NY version of the same AU.

There are no slash or adult situations in these stories whatsoever.

The Smacked portrayed in here is meant to be friendship and only friendship, but if you can handle the relationship on the show every week, you should be able to withstand this. ^.^ Unless the show makes Smacked canon, I will not write Smackedlove in here… but there'll be lots of Smacked friendship and that great chemistry and dynamic we see every week…

This is an open AU, so feel free to join in and write stories of your own in this universe. All I ask is that you wait for me to finish this first story? It might sound like crud now, but I rather think you'll like it by the end…

If you don't like the flavor of the tea, please don't spoil the pot for others, thank you. :) Consider this a founding fic – how it all began.

Oh. And just in case you're wondering what the Little Britches AU is (remove spaces and copy into browser URL bar): http : / / blackraptor . net / Joy / LB / LBLinks . htm

Do check them out, their ATF series is really beautiful and well-written. :) Especially if you're a Magnificent 7 tv series fan...

On with the fic!

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**Prologue**

"_Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  
Some move our souls to dance.  
They awaken us to new understanding  
with the passing whisper of their wisdom.  
Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon.  
They stay in our lives for awhile,  
leave footprints on our hearts  
and we are never, ever the same."  
~ Anonymous_

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Their footsteps echoed loudly as they walked down the silent hallway, even though there was carpeting to muffle the sound. A woman and a boy, walking hand-in-hand, the boy keeping his eyes on the ground as he moved, scuffing his sneakers along the way. The woman shook her head slightly, but fished in her bag for her keys with her free hand and stopped in front of a door to open it.

"Well, this is it. It's not much but its home," Stella Bonasera announced lightly as she opened the door to her apartment and stepped inside, quickly putting away her jacket and bag so that she could help her 'guest' out of his. Blue eyes scanned the area quietly, with no apparent sign of enthusiasm… though discouraging, Stella did not let it faze her.

"Bet you're hungry, kiddo," she said as cheerfully as she could. "I'll try and find out where I put the peanut butter and jelly, all right? I make a mean PB&J – I promise."

The dull blue gaze did not waver, but the little boy blinked and nodded slowly, his hand tightening on the one item he would not let her touch – a worn brown teddy bear with only one eye, and patches of dark brown where the fur had been all hugged away. His grip on it was fierce – Stella did not ask to hold it, nor did she command him to put it down while he ate… it brought him comfort and security, and right now she knew he would need as much of it as he could get.

No five-year-old should have to experience what he had. No child should lose their mother at so young an age, then be abandoned by their father, the only family they had left…

Delainey Marcos had been a friend of Stella's since her days in the police academy, and they had both worked together right up till the day that Stella had decided to go for CSI training, to work in the crime lab instead of becoming a regular police officer. To this day, she regretted that decision a little, because it was after they'd started walking separate career paths that they had begun to drift apart. They'd lost touch completely just a few months ago, shortly after Delainey had made Detective... and then Stella had gotten the call.

Her friend had been found dead in her own home, shot five times in the chest and back. Her five-year-old son had escaped with minor injuries, though he had become slightly hysterical and they'd been forced to sedate him in order to bring him to the hospital to get checked out. He'd calmed down somewhat by the time Stella had finished processing the scene and been able to go check on him with her boss, Mac Taylor… but once there, the doctors had informed them that they had already told him that his mother was gone, and wouldn't be coming back. The instant the five-year-old had heard that, he'd shut down, refusing to speak or respond to anyone. Seeing him there, the life and exuberance stamped right out of him… it had just about broken Stella's heart.

Then, to make things worse for the little boy, his father, Lawrence Messer, disappeared without a trace shortly after his mother's funeral, taking his older brother Louie with him. The police were still searching for them both, and in the meantime, little Danny had been handed into the care of Social Services, despite Stella's protests. He had no other family willing to take him in, and though he and Stella had formed a tentative bond through her daily hospital visits, she wasn't a blood relative, and so could not bring him home with her, not even temporarily.

Brooding at home alone, Stella had finally gotten fed up. Instinct had brought her back to the crime scene, to Delainey's room, where she had found Danny's teddy bear by the bed, obviously left there during a late night visit by a certain brown-haired, blue-eyed five-year-old. Something had made her pick it up, telling herself that it would make a good excuse for her to visit him at the group home where Social Services had placed him for now. And as she was sitting on the bed with the old toy, looking beyond the bear to the wall, she had suddenly seen a secret wall safe, behind a slightly crooked painting…

The CSI had gone slowly over and pushed aside the painting, slowly reaching up to try different possible combinations. Drawing on her knowledge of her friend, she had smiled when she'd discovered that the code for opening the safe was the date that Delainey and she had both joined the academy. And inside, within a small metal box, she had found copies of Delainey's will… and information that warmed her heart and brought hope that she would be able to take her friend's son home with her after all.

Delainey, it seemed, had thought ahead, taking no chances with her sons' futures. In her will was a stipulation that, in the event anything happened to her and her husband was not able or available to care for her children, then her old friend Stella was to be named the boys' legal guardian. There was no one, she wrote in an accompanying letter, whom she trusted more, no one else to whom she could entrust the care of her children. She knew that with Stella, they would be safe and loved and cared for, and that was all she wanted for them.

"_My friend," _she had written, in words that brought tears to Stella's eyes, _"You are like a sister to me. You always have been. To quote a Muppets movie: 'There is no word yet, for old friends who've just met', and that was what it was like when we first introduced ourselves to each other at the academy. I know that you will care for them as your own, and love them with all the love in your big, warm heart, if ever anything happens that means I'm not around to do it."_

Stella had known then, that despite it all, she still had the option to say 'no'…

But after approaching Social Services with this new information, she had gone to visit Danny. The home he'd been placed in was a nice one, a warm and comfortable place with children laughing and running around in the yard as the sun set slowly over the city. But Danny wasn't among them, nor was he inside with the younger children, watching TV. Instead, she found him in the backyard, sitting by himself at a picnic table, staring off into the distance, his blue eyes tinted a little darker by the colors of sadness and lost hope. The woman who ran the home was concerned that he wouldn't speak to anyone, and had been refusing food ever since he'd been brought there. He'd been sitting at the table all day, and despite all her experiences in bringing up orphans and foster children, she'd never seen any child quite this… devastated… before.

Standing there with the bear in her hand, Stella had known then that she couldn't _not_ take him into her heart and home, at least until a more permanent situation could be found. That was the deal – Danny would stay with her until they found some family who could adopt him, or blood relatives who could take him into their home instead. Social Services had learned that there was the possibility that the boy had an aunt and uncle in LA, and while they investigated that, Danny would be staying with Stella.

And so she had brought Danny home with her that very same night.

He wasn't exactly enthusiastic, but Stella still hoped that she would be able to help him heal, and help him find the courage to speak again. To get over his grief and forget the tragedy he had lived through… and most of all, help him want to live again.

It wouldn't happen overnight, and it wouldn't be easy. But then, it was important that she tried...

Because Danny was fading slowly away with each passing day, as the darkness of grief and depression threatened to claim him, slowly killing him from within. And one thing that Stella definitely did not want was to lose this little boy the way she had lost his mother…

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	2. Rough Starts

**Disclaimer: **See prologue.

**Author's notes: **If not for Daisyangel, I would not have had the courage to continue and post this. :) Thanks Daisyangel! If you read this, hope you like it!

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**Chapter 1**

The next morning, Stella drove Danny to a nearby daycare center, having gotten a recommendation from her neighbor, who also had a day job and a young son, Jason. She didn't want to leave him there, but she had little choice. At the very least, she needed to go in today and finish up some paperwork and settle things with Mac, so that she could take Friday and the weekend off. As much as she would have liked to bring Danny along… the lab was no place for a young boy, and she couldn't bring him there. So instead, she brought him to the daycare and spent some time explaining a few things to the woman in charge, and hoped that Danny would be fine.

Judging from the expression on his face when the time came for her to leave, though…

"Hey," Stella said, dropping to her knees so that she was at the little boy's eye level, and wincing inwardly at the blank expression on his face that barely masked the glint of fear she could see in his eyes. "Danny? I'll come back for you later, I promise."

He shook his head, expression turning pleading. Stella felt her resolve melting, but knew that she had to do this. Squeezing one small shoulder gently, she promised again, "I'll be back this evening to pick you up, as soon as my shift ends, Danny. I have to work today… Mrs Greer will take care of you, and you just do what she says and try to have fun, all right? I'll be back before you know it, Danny, promise."

Sighing, Danny nodded and bowed his head, scuffing his feet and hugging his bear a little closer to himself. He refused to look up at Stella, and the last sight she had of him as she hesitantly made her way to the car and drove off was of him studying the pavement, while the homely, middle-aged Mrs Greer slipped a compassionate arm around his shoulders and began to lead him inside.

Stella knew that he didn't expect her to return for him at all. Heaving a heavy sigh, she turned the key in the ignition and pulled out into traffic.

If she could, she would happily shoot Lawrence Messer right now, and do the time with next to no regrets…

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She reached a little earlier than her usual arrival time, having thought she would need time at the daycare to settle Danny. Few people were in yet, and she headed past everyone and made a beeline for the break room, where surprisingly, she found Mac Taylor already seated with a cup of fresh coffee.

"Slumming?" she teased, unable to help herself. Her friend arched an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth curving slightly into that small smile he had, though it was a little muted – she hadn't seen a true sparkle in it since his wife's death, which, despite having happened more than a few months ago, was still something they were both getting used to, both missing the woman who had been wife and friend, and more besides. Still, Mac was recovering, and though Stella could still see the shadows of sorrow and pain in his eyes and face, she could also see the lines of healing that were beginning to overwrite the grief. So it came as no surprise when he was able to respond glibly, the way the old Mac Taylor would have.

"I thought it would be good to mingle with the underlings," he quipped back, with a perfectly serious expression on his face. Stella grinned, and saw his eyes twinkle slightly. Beneath that serious façade, Mac Taylor had a wicked sense of humor sometimes, and she was glad that traces of it were slowly coming back.

"Well, you're just the person this 'underling' wanted to see," she said, moving to pour herself a cup of coffee.

She needed advice, and could think of no better person to ask than Mac. They had become close as friends as well as coworkers, and even Stella had to admit they had a certain chemistry, and worked well together. The only other person she'd felt that with in her life had been Delainey…

Looking up, she found Mac's gray eyes watching her intently, his complete attention on her now. Shrugging, she explained, "Remember that complaint you got about me going back to the Marcos-Messer crime scene after hours?"

"How could I forget?" he asked, rather dryly, and she ducked her head a little, suitably chastened. Mac had to deal with enough as it was, and she had gotten two complaints about her behavior so far throughout her career. Still, she knew her friend still supported her… even if he did ask her not to let her famous Greek temper get in the way of her job too often.

Stella couldn't promise anything, and they both knew they probably hadn't heard the last of the complaints against her…

"I found Delainey's will," she said, and watched as his eyebrow rose, indicating interest. "It was in a safe on the wall, behind a painting. I read it – Mac, she wanted me to become legal guardian for Danny and Louie, in the event that anything happened to her and Larry."

Mac sat up, and she hurriedly went on, "I went straight to Social Services with it, once I'd verified that it was the real deal. I…"

"Stella…"

"I was thinking about Danny, okay?" she blurted, turning her body to face his, eyes pleading for him to understand. Even though she knew him so well, that stern expression on his face scared even her at times like these. "I know I should have left it, I shouldn't even have been there – but I couldn't stop thinking about him. Delainey's little boy..."

"Stella…"

"And I'm sorry that I didn't at least call and clear it with you first, but it was more important to me that I find a way to help him somehow…"

"Stella!" Exasperated, Mac cut in a little more firmly, but as Stella stopped, startled, she caught the twinkle in his gray gaze. "Look, about Delainey… her death wasn't your fault. You should know that no matter what that will said, you don't have to take in Danny just because you feel you let her down by not being there to save her."

"Mac, I'm not doing this out of guilt…"

"Aren't you?" Mac pinned her with that knowing gray gaze, and Stella hesitated – darn it. Her friend had always been able to read her a little too well…

"Maybe I am," she admitted, at last. "But Mac – I really am worried about Danny, and since Delainey left him with me… I feel like it's my responsibility to help him. And I know it isn't, not really, but… I don't know. Just one look at that little boy, and I just felt that I know what he's going through. After all… I lost his mother too. She was my friend, and I cared about her. This is the least I can do for her: make sure that her son is all right…"

Mac nodded. "I know, Stell," he said gently, getting up and moving over to stand beside her. "And I think it's a good idea. I'm just worried about you."

Startled, she frowned at him, and he went on, "I'm worried you'll get too attached to this kid, and then when they find him a family or something, it will make it difficult for you to say goodbye. Because this thing you're doing with him Stell – it can't be a permanent thing. With our jobs, and the long hours we work – the last thing you need is to become a single mom, or something very like it. I know you feel you can empathize with the kid – and I'm not telling you to ignore the fact that you're both grieving the loss of the same person and have more than just a little in common – but well, just don't get _too_ involved, all right?"

About to protest, he held up a hand, and his expression gentled slightly as he finished, "That being said: I know you, and I know that no matter what I say, you're _already_ involved. Well… then no matter what, you should know that your friends here at the lab – we're with you one hundred and ten percent, Stell. We'll back you no matter what you decide you're going to do, for yourself… and for Danny."

A surge of warmth surged through Stella at that promise, and she leaned quickly in to hug Mac, thanking God and whatever fates had brought her the wonderful friends and family she had here in her co-workers at the lab. Having grown up in St Basil's Orphanage and several group homes, these people were the closest thing she had to a true family. It was part of why she had joined the police force – she'd been looking for a place where she could belong. And she had found home in this place and people, home and happiness and family.

Releasing her, Mac studied her expression, then patted her shoulder and suggested, "Why don't you take the day off? Go home, spend time with the kid. Get to know him a little, figure out your next move."

Stella sighed. "I'll finish up my work, and then I'll go back. I just… I…"

She needed to get away, immerse herself in her work. She needed to be distracted enough so that she could think – a contradiction, maybe, but it was how she felt. And from the understanding in Mac's gray gaze, she knew that Mac understood.

"You can use my office," he said quietly. "I'll be out in meetings all day. Apparently, we're getting a new budget review."

"Oh, joy," Stella murmured, and thanked him with a smile. Mac gave her shoulder one final pat and squeeze, then curved his lips in his normal half-smile and left.

Stella leaned silently against the cupboards for a long moment, then shook herself and set herself to "work mode". She wasn't here to stand around brooding, she had work to do.

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The afternoon and evening came around quickly, and Stella left her desk to search for her other colleague, one Detective Donald Flack Jr, a young but skilled detective, who managed to combine brains and brawn in one long, lanky body. Dark-haired and blue-eyed, Don resembled his father in more than just name and profession, though the "Jr" part embarrassed even him – it was both something to be proud of and a burden to live up to. Stella had met him when he was just a young detective, barely out of the training wheels, and she was proud of the person he had become since then.

He too, was part of her NYPD "family", and one of the people who had been assigned to the Marcos-Messer case with them.

"Hey Stell," he greeted her when she found him at his desk, long legs stretched out beside it as he held his cellphone to his ear. "Be right with you…"

"That's fine, take your time," she waved him off easily. "I just wanted to ask you where we are with finding out where Larry Messer is and why he left town so suddenly."

"Ah…." Don nodded to her, distracted as someone answered the phone on the other end. "Okay, I'll uh, call you back." Snapping the phone shut, he was all business again as he looked up at her.

"Larry Messer? Detective Marcos' scumbag husband? The one who barely stuck around even for the funeral and who left his kid behind while he disappeared into the wind? That Larry Messer?"

Delainey had been his friend too, one of his "boys". Flack was protective of the men (and women) who worked with or under him in the PD, and he hadn't exactly kept his low opinion of Larry Messer - a man who would run out barely 24 hours after his wife's funeral and take one son while leaving the other behind - a secret, not since learning of the man's vanishing act.

Stella wouldn't say she disagreed with him, but she did know that the detective needed to stay objective as well as focused or they wouldn't get far in solving this case and getting justice for Delainey. Still… "That's the one," she agreed, watching the blue eyes darken with displeasure.

"We put out an APB on him and his car, and sent out descriptions and photos of him and Louie. Told all units to be on the lookout for a man with a little boy, abolut eleven-years-old. We'll find the guy, Stell."

"I sure hope so," she said, unable to stop the grim tone from entering her voice. "He's got a lot of explaining to do to a certain five-year-old when we get him back…"

"Sure does." Flack gave her a strange look, then shrugged and went on, "Oh, by the way - Chad said he might have figured out the reason why Mr Messer made like a banana and split."

"Chad did?"

"Yep. Seems Mr Messer was under surveillance, and Delainey never knew. He has certain 'business partners' whom the FBI are very interested in, and certain 'business deals' that seemed honest enough, but were setting off spider senses for certain people who knew what signs to look out for. So… Chad figures that maybe one of the people he 'works' with might have come after him, and Delainey and Danny got caught in the crossfire, at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Stella raised an eyebrow, and slowly began to nod. "Did you let Mac know?"

"Was about to do that, but then he mentioned he was in one of them budget meetings and I said I'd call him back later." The detective grinned. "Better him than me, I always say."

Stella smiled. "Good work, Flack. Thank Chad for me, and we should work on trying to find out who was so angry with Larry, eh?"

Flack nodded. "Chad's on it as we speak, ma'am."

"Thanks." Starting to leave, Stella was stopped by Flack's tentative call of her name.

"Uh… Stell?"

"Hm?" she turned to look at him, puzzled.

"I heard a crazy rumor going around today."

"A rumor?" She arched an eyebrow at him, and he nodded, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah. Crazy thing. Some folks seem to have heard that you took in Delainey's little boy – the one that got left behind? Danny? Yeah… they seem to think that you're, I don't know, uh, adopting him or something."

Well, the lab's gossip-detection satellites were in perfect working order. "Uh…"

"I mean, I know it's none of my business, Stella, but -"

"How much do you have bet on it being true, Flack?" Stella asked knowingly, and enjoyed herself a little watching the lanky detetctive squirm.

"Only fifty bucks," he muttered. "Not the point. Thing is – did you, are you… uh, will you…?"

Taking pity on him, the female CSI let him off the hook and nodded, "I did." Because Flack was a friend, she briefly outlined the situation for him, and was glad that Flack, being Flack, didn't judge her, simply nodding and accepting what she had done.

"You need help, just call," he offered, though there was an expression in his bright blue eyes that told Stella he was hoping she never would, and she laughed. "I mean, it's Delainey's kid, and she was one of ours. We'd like to keep an eye on him for her too. And I don't guess it'll be easy adjusting to having a kid in the house. I mean – my sister's got two and it always amazes me how complicated it is to take care of 'em…"

"Thanks, Flack," she said, and meant it. "I think I'll take it one step at a time for now, though."

"I get that," he said, and gave her a little grin. "See ya around, Stella."

She left him then, and headed to the break room again, in a thoughtful mood. Checking the clock, she noted that if she left now, she would just be in time to pick Danny up – she was done with her work anyway, and the daycare closed at six. She could pick up something for dinner on the way back, something kid-friendly that Danny would hopefully like.

Flack had brought up a point that Stella knew she had to consider, though. She knew next to nothing about raising a child. Perhaps if she went home, she could look up some stuff on the Internet, see what she needed to be doing for Danny. What was she supposed to feed him, how did she handle him, how did she talk to him? What activities were safe for him to do and what wasn't? Stella was nothing if not determined – somehow or other, for Danny's sake, she would learn.

But right now, she just had to go back and prove to that little boy that unlike his father, she wasn't going to leave him somewhere and never return for him…

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An hour later, Mac Taylor received a frustrated, frantic phone call as he was leaving his final meeting of the day. Spotting Stella's name on caller ID, he answered quickly and heard Stella's upset voice on the other end.

"_Mac. Are you leaving work now?"_

He checked his watch and frowned. "Just about to. You all right, Stella?"

"…_No."_

"I beg your pardon?"

"_No, Mac, I am NOT all right." _

Stella sounded like a person who had reached the end of her rope and suspiciously close to tears.

"Stella, what -"

"_Can you do me a favor, Mac? Can you head to the daycare and pick up Danny for me? I stopped by at Vinny's to pick up some pizza for the two of us, and now I'm caught in a bad traffic jam. There was a five-car pile-up somewhere ahead of us, and traffic is practically gridlocked. It's going to take a while to clear up. It's almost six and Danny's going to be the last to leave as it is."_

Was she crying? Mac frowned, but he couldn't tell. Switching the phone to his other hand so he could push open his office door, he said, "I'll pack up and head over right away. Hang in there, Stella."

"_Thanks, Mac."_ The words came out in a relieved rush. _"I'm sorry to have to bother you, but… I just… you didn't see how he looked at me this morning. And after what his dad did to him…"  
_

"Easy, Stell," Mac soothed. "I'll get him and bring him to your place, and we'll wait for you there. Don't worry. I'm glad to help, you know that."

Mac was as good as his word. It took him most of the walk to his car to calm Stella and assure her that he would take a different route to get to the daycare on time, and only then did he move, pushing as close to the speed limit as he dared. Even then, he knew as he drove that he would probably reach after six still… but still earlier than Stella would, if her description of the traffic conditions was true. He could only hope that Danny would be all right.

He remembered the first time he had seen the little boy at the hospital. Danny had still been in shock, dressed in an oversized hospital robe that hung on him like a small sack, sitting on the bed and looking at everyone around him with dead-looking eyes. Mac knew those eyes – he himself had sported them for a while too, the day he had learned that his wife was gone. Claire had gone down with the Towers, along with a lot of other good men and women, and for a long time after… well, Mac understood how Danny must have felt, and he understood why Danny's little eyes had seemed "dead", devoid of the life and energy usually associated with five-year-olds. The doctors had been almost certain that Danny had missed nothing of what had happened to his mother, and when he'd learned that she was gone…

He knew that what Stella was hoping for now, was that she would be able to bring him back somehow, the little boy whom they only knew from photos they had seen in the house, a child who loved his family and was filled with fun and mischief. A little boy with sparkling blue eyes and a crooked grin, who had just started kindergarten and who dared to try new things, like sliding down the stair railing backwards and painting his mother's red rosebush blue with kiddie paints – and most of himself as well, in the process. That picture had made Mac smile… perhaps he should look into claiming those photos back for Danny, so that Stella could keep them for him and he could remember his family...

Perhaps.

Shaking his head, Mac looked up from his thoughts and realized that he had arrived at last. The clock read about fifteen minutes past six. Was that fifteen minutes too long for a little boy who had already been through hell and been abandoned by someone he'd loved and trusted with all his young heart? Getting out, Mac took a moment to lock his car and head towards the daycare building, spotting a woman in the garden who was already moving towards him, having seen him pull up.

"You Danny Messer's parent?" she asked sharply, and Mac was cowed enough by her tone to nod, eyebrows raised. Before he could explain, the woman went on, "Took you long enough to get here! Do you know how terribly your lateness has affected that little boy? Well, do you?"

"Patricia!" An older, more homely-looking woman came hurrying out of the house, coming towards them as well. "Patricia, it's all right. Detective Bonasera called me earlier and explained everything. You must be Detective Taylor? Come right this way, sir, Danny's inside."

Patricia harrumphed a little, but allowed the other woman, Ally Greer, to lead them inside. The two of them ran the daycare together, but Ally explained to Mac that Patricia was her partner, who though more in charge of the administrative side of the daycare, cared deeply for each and every one of the children who was placed in their center and could be very protective and fierce if she felt someone was doing wrong by them.

"She didn't know that you're picking Danny up for Detective Bonasera, Mr Taylor," Mrs Greer explained. "And she doesn't know yet about what Detective Bonasera told me about Danny's past, but I'll enlighten her later. Right now, sir, there is one very upset, hurting little boy in the playroom, and well sir… I just think he needs a lot of love and support before any healing can come along. But he's a dear – behaved like a real little angel, and didn't give me no trouble except for one moment where he refused to eat… But he got hungry later, and I gave him some sandwiches and tea."

Mac nodded. "Thanks, Mrs Greer," he began, then stopped as they reached the playroom, staring inside and falling silent.

Going from his memory of the crushed spirit he had last seen in the hospital, he was almost certain that Danny looked worse than he had then. Huddled up in a corner with a forlorn expression on his little face, Danny was curled up amidst some cushions and hugging his worn old teddy bear tightly to himself, staring listlessly out the window. The blue eyes looked sad and almost dead again, and for a moment, Mac realized exactly why Patricia had been so angry with him. Instinctively, he stepped forward, and Danny looked around and up at him unhappily.

Mac bent down to Danny's eye level and smiled gently at him, meeting the blue gaze with his own gray. "Hello, Danny," he said softly, not breaking eye contact. "I'm Mac Taylor, Stella's boss. Do you remember me? I came to the hospital a while back to see you."

He purposefully left out the fact that he had also come on the same day Delainey Messer had died, just hours after Danny had lost his mother. Danny didn't need to remember that now – if he had even forgotten. "Danny?" he tried again, when there was no response.

There was a long silence, but eventually a spark of recognition lit in Danny's eyes, and the boy blinked before nodding slowly, the little face still sad and strangely expressionless. He sniffled, then scrubbed at his nose and sighed.

Mac wished he could figure out exactly what was going on in the boy's head. As it was, he took a wild stab at guessing.

"Stella got caught up in traffic – there was an accident on the way home from work, so when she realized she would be a little late to pick you up she asked me to come and get you. I'm going to take you home to her place, and she'll meet us there when she gets back, okay?" Hoping to coax a reaction from the boy, he added enticingly, "She's bringing pizza…"

Danny made a strange sound in his throat, sounding as though he was being strangled. The next thing he knew, Danny had glommed into his arms and wrapped his little arms around Mac's neck, a wordless whimper slipping free of his mouth. The little body was trembling finely, and Mac automatically knew to wrap his arms around Danny and stand up, holding him close, bear and all.

"Shh, it's all right," he murmured gently. "I've got you, you're fine. Stella didn't forget you, no one left you behind. We're going home. Come on, it's all right…"

Barely aware of what he was saying, he was just glad that the tone and gentle words calmed Danny down. Slowly, Danny relaxed into his arms, though not completely, and a relieved Mac nodded goodbyes to the two watching women and thanked them for taking care of the little boy for them.

"It was our pleasure," said Ally simply. "We'll see you tomorrow, Danny."

The little boy snuggled closer to Mac, and the CSI supervisor gently patted him on the back, uncertain if he was doing the right thing, but encouraged when Danny sighed and clung tighter. Walking was difficult, but he quickly figured out how to hold the child on his hip and support him with one arm while getting out his car keys with the other.

Danny was still silent, but at least now, he was responding again when Mac murmured to him. He sat down obediently as Mac buckled him into the car seat – not having a booster seat handy – and looked out the window all the way back to Stella's place.

Once in the apartment, Danny dragged his bear in and made a beeline for the kitchen table. Finding a seat in a corner, he sat in it and waited, watching Mac cautiously the whole time. Mac gave him a small smile, and settled down to wait with him, taking a seat at the table beside him.

He wasn't sure how long they sat like that, but to his surprise, after a few minutes a small voice piped up unexpectedly:

"Is she _really_ coming back, sir?"

Stunned, Mac stared at the little boy, who looked solemnly and tiredly back at him. There was a conflict of hope and hopelessness in his eyes, and started as he was, it was a struggle to respond: "Yes, Danny, she really is. And uh… don't call me 'sir'. The name's Mac, okay?"

Danny nodded solemnly. Mac hoped for more speech, but apparently that single sentence was all he would get out of the boy right now. Mac couldn't read the child's expression – so was this a breakthrough or wasn't it, for a boy who hadn't spoken since his mother's death?

They both looked up at the sound of the key in the lock, and Mac got to his feet as it opened, revealing an anxious and worried Stella. Neither of them were prepared for Danny to get to his feet, barrel over as fast as they would carry him, and start pummeling Stella with all his strength, crying out three impassioned words in a voice husky from lack of use:

"You. Didn't. Come!"

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Like it? Hate it? Please review and comment. I'm working on the next part as soon as I can, in between preparing for university. :)

RK9


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